


Don't Get Blood On The Carpet

by orphan_account



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Gang World, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff and Angst, Gang AU, Gangs, M/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 13:20:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7642150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dipper wanted nothing more than to get through school easily, but when some blonde asshole comes into Dipper's life and drags him into his, school becomes the least of his problems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> im starting a new au because FUCK i cant get over this pair and im a fool who thinks about aus all the time and I had to write it even though my other ones on hiatus im sOrry.

It all started with a bad idea or as Mabel Pines liked to call it: a great idea.

Having just come into college life, getting used to the homework and social aspects, Mabel thought it was a great idea to throw a 'college party' to commemorate their survival of the first semester. Dipper foolishly agreed, against his better judgment, and after Mabel sent him out to get beer (acquired by their of legal age friend), he had plenty of time to rethink this.

"I mean it's only a party, I shouldn't be worried right?" He spoke to Wendy (their of legal age friend) as he held a case of Mikes. Wendy hummed as they carried the boxes out of her truck and snuck it into the apartment he and Mabel shared. "Sure we haven't had a party with alcohol since New Years but that was just champagne and this stuff-" He gestured to the box he was holding, "I mean, it's _illegal_."

Technically the only illegal thing would be if he drank it, seeing as how he's only eighteen, but he knew Mabel would take as many drinks as she pleased. Wendy snorted at his skittishness.

"Dude, it's only illegal if someone see's." She reasoned, setting the case on the kitchen counter. It was a small apartment since it was only the twins that stayed there but it was nice, orderly thanks to Dipper, decorated thanks to Mabel.

"It's a party, everyone will see!" He squawked, blinking owlishly at the redhead.

She shrugged, crossing her arms and leaning back against the counter. Her smirk once made Dipper's heart go ba-boom but now it was just a faint tick that was more of admiration than adoration.

"Say it's soda."

Dipper scoffed at her, dramatically smacking himself in the face and shaking his head in mock despair.

Enter Mabel, stepping in from stage right. With calculated precision, she lines up for a clever pun, sure to bring her brother to the brink of inner turmoil.

"Will it make you feel better if you drink it with a silly straw."

Impact.

Dipper groaned as Wendy laughed. She actually started wheezing when Mabel brought out a silly straw in a kids cup out from behind her back. Where she got it, they'll never know.

Dipper gave her a friendly punch as she laughed, letting out a few chuckles of his own. It wasn't her best so he rated it a six out of ten, telling her as much only to receive her sticking her tongue out at him.

Seeing the cases of alcoholic beverages, Mabel sways over to them, opening a box and bringing out three bottles, handing one to Wendy and Dipper.

"A toast! To our first college party." She held up her bottle, looking expectantly to Wendy and Dipper, who rolled his eyes but clinked their bottles together. 

After drinking and chatting a bit more, Wendy had to leave with promises to come back for the party later that night and Mabel returned to prepping their apartment. Dipper ended up stuck in the kitchen with his thoughts, which were mostly of how the morning would be hell.

 

-

 

People were arriving.

Robby from his Creative Writing class. Wendy and her roommate Tambry. Some short and pudgy blonde guy who looked suspiciously like he knew he wasn't invited, but there were too many people to only bother with him.

How did Mabel know so many people? 

Dipper had invited maybe one or two people, if Wendy counted. If she didn't, then the only person Dipper brought was Soos, a childhood friend. A great guy, big on parties, which was how he met him. Mabel was big on parties too, so she had introduced them and the two hit it off with talking about some nerd shit.

The party had started out fine, only Mabel's close friends that even Dipper knew had arrived and they all had a grand old time dancing and catching up. Then in a blur of music and the three beers he's had, the apartment was filled to the brim with people from all over campus, none of which Dipper knew. If it weren’t for the influence of alcohol, he'd be panicking.

Dipper wasn't a very social butterfly. Sure he had friends and he wasn't a complete shut-in but that didn't mean he openly introduced himself to people on a regular basis. So this was clearly the perfect opportunity to do such a thing.

"Hi, my name's Dopper." He held out a hand to a girl that stood alone to the side of the main dancing ring, she looked like his kind of people. 

"Yeah, Dipper I know who you are. We're in the same Latin class." She replied, looking bored with the conversation already and idly sipping from her red solo cup. 

"Ah... Right..." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as she walked away muttering something under her breath. Dipper groaned, the drink in his hand almost spilling with how he slumped over dejectedly.

Well, it was still early in the night, and Dipper was feeling optimistic. If there was ever a chance to meet some people, this was it. 

His optimism died on the third attempt, similar things having happened each time. Maybe making friends just wasn't a thing college people did, or maybe Dipper's just that bad. 

It was after his fourth unenthusiastic attempt that he noticed he was being watched. The feeling was faint like a tickle on the back of his neck, the feeling of eyes watching him. After the fourth person he tried to talk to walk away, Dipper took the chance to survey the room.

He stood in the corner of the room, windows and tv on his right, wall with posters that Mabel put up on his left. The music was coming from speakers placed near the TV, where cups littered the stand. That would be annoying to clean up. The majority of people were standing, most of them swaying to the music in the center of the room. Across the room to his right where the kitchen connected with the living room. Across the room to his left, was a zebra printed futon, and currently sitting on that futon was the man he's been looking for. 

Dark eyes met him from across the room and everything else seemed blurry, though that may just be the alcohol. The man had golden hair pushed around haphazardly on his head, an undercut of dark brown on the sides. He could barely see from here, but Dipper thought he saw little triangles shaved into the sides of the undercut. The man had foreboding eyes that beckoned Dipper closer with just a slight glint of amusement. His ravenous mouth quirked into a smirk when he noticed Dipper had finally caught on. His tan skin only showed through on his face, neck, and hands as he wore a button up shirt and jeans to cover the rest of him. A vague thought told Dipper that he'd look much better without those clothes, but he quickly pushed it away.

With a huff, Dipper began making his way over. Might as well try one last attempt at socializing. The stranger looked up at him as he approached, eyes glued to Dipper's as he spoke.

"So are you having a fun time tonight? Does watching my failures get you off or something?" If he weren’t drunk, Dipper would not have the confidence to outright say it. He'd have been subtle, charming, and maybe even flirtatious... Although those may also be drunken ideations. 

The stranger smirked and gave Dipper a once over, his face seemingly stuck in a mask of amusement.

"I'm having a marvelous time watching you, thanks for asking." He took a sip from his beer, having a bottle instead of a cup.

Dipper watched as his lips barely touched the rim and his throat bobbed as he swallowed down the amber liquid. Dipper gulped in what he hoped was unnoticeable attraction. He didn't mention that the stranger said he enjoyed watching _him_ , not his failures.

From the gleam in his eye, the stranger clearly noticed Dipper's observance and licked his lips in a teasing manor.

"Well I’m glad some random guy is entertained by me. I wonder who this mysterious stranger is?” Dipper inadvertently asked, sitting down on the couch next to the man and crossing his legs.

The man waited a second to respond, which made Dipper squirm a bit. It seemed that’s what he was waiting for to speak. Dipper’s a little pissed off at how much he is amusing this guy with his embarrassments.

“Bill, and you are?” Bill raised a perfectly sculpted brow and held out his hand to shake.

“Do- _Dipper_. Dipper Pines, I’m one of the hosts of this whole shebang.” He mentally cursed himself for the hiccup, but decided to forgive it by completing the rest of the sentence. Dipper took the hand offered for a weak shake.

“Pleasure to meet you, Dipper Pines. You’re a _great_ party host. I, personally, am having the time of my life.” Bill cheered sarcastically.

Dipper felt he should have been offended, but couldn’t find it in him to care in the least bit. A little sarcasm was always welcome in his life; the way Bill held himself comfortably held much more regard than a simple statement.

He decided to take it in stride and ignore the sarcasm, taking the statement as a compliment. 

“Thank you oh so much. It just means the world to hear that from you.” If he wasn’t drunk, Dipper would not be doing this, he digresses. Sober, he will surely regret the entire night. But why not enjoy it while it’s happening?

“It should mean a lot, I’m an amazing person.” He offhandedly flattered himself, waving a hand through the air. 

“I don’t really know you as a person but you sure look amazing from here.” 

What? What is this? Is Dipper flirting? That wasn’t even a good line but Dipper is swelling with pride at the attempt. 

Bill raised his eyebrows and snorted, actually fucking snorted out a laugh. Dipper pouted as he chuckled with a hand over his mouth for a good while longer. 

When he finally broke off with an appraising look to Dipper, Dipper was long past comfortable with their little chat. He’d much rather be making a fool of himself in front of someone who wasn’t hot as hell. 

“I take back everything I’ve been thinking about you since I saw you. You’re quite the little minx aren’t you?” He teased, tongue between his teeth. 

“Minx?!” Dipper sputtered, putting a hand to his chest dramatically. “You must have me confused with someone else. I’m no minx, I’m a wolf.” He nodded once at his response then added, “and what have you been thinking about me?” 

Just as Bill was about to respond, some guy in a black hoodie came up to him, a nervous looking guy with his hands in his pockets and a wild look in his eyes. 

He leaned down to whisper something into Bill’s ear, eyes darting all around the room. Dipper tried not to listen in, wanting to respect his new acquaintances privacy, not that he could anyway with all the noise going through the apartment. 

Whatever the guy said, he quickly left, looking back when he was at the door to make sure Bill followed. Bill’s face revealed nothing of why he had to leave, only with a smirk did he tip an imaginary hat to Dipper and turn to leave. 

But Dipper didn’t want to leave the conversation where it was. He wanted to talk more, get to know Bill. Maybe even make a bad decision and lead him back to his room. 

“Wait! What were you thinking about me?” He pleaded, hoping Bill got the hint that he wanted him to stay. 

However, Bill didn’t slow, only turning around and walking backwards as he responded with yet another mirthful grin. 

“Don’t worry about it. See ya later Pinetree.” He winked, and was gone. 

Dipper looked dazedly after him, muttering a confused, “Pinetree…?” and looking around before realizing the hat he was wearing, a remnant of his great uncles old tourist shack and a reminder of his childhood summers, which had a symbol of a tree on it.

Dipper spent the rest of the night in a daze, having a few more drinks and quickly growing bored with the party before he decided to just call it a night and go to sleep. 

The party went on until sometime late at night, or early morning, however you want to see it. Dipper slept through most of it, only waking up in intervals when some couple fell into his room making out too vigorously for a college party. 

He woke up inevitably at some point for the last time, promptly throwing up in the closest and only bathroom as soon as he stumbled off his bed. 

The headache wasn’t worth the drinks he’d had last night, but the ache in his chest at the meeting with Bill left him feeling hollowed.

“Whoa bro bro, rough night?” Mabel asked cheerfully from the kitchen, where she was cleaning up the bottles and cups that covered every available surface. How she managed to avoid a hangover so easily, he wishes he knew.

Unfortunately for him, he could barely see where he was walking due to the pain any ounce of light brought him.

“You have no idea.” He groaned, sitting down at the counter and putting his head in his hands as he willed the pounding to go away. Soundlessly, Mabel put some medicine and a glass of water in front of him. 

Taking the pills he took the time to think about last night, about _Bill_.

Their conversation wasn’t even that long or in depth but it was the best part of his night. Something about the tan skin and the golden eyes and those godforsaken lips just wouldn’t leave Dipper alone.

Oh well, that’s a problem for tomorrow Dipper. Today Dipper’s only worry is how to stop Mabel from putting glitter in the pancakes she’s making.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so here we are. making this a story. will probably be short maybe like five chapters idk. enjoy???? i will actually probably make it like ten chapters either way its a short fic srry. also these chapters are HELLA short srry im kinda not feelin it but im forcing myself to write a fic that isnt disastrous duo bc that fic has a lot of important things i need to write well and this one is just kinda there so theres less pressure sorry. this isnt my best ugh i kinda hat it but thats why im writing i guess, to get past this stage. SORRY this authors note is HELLA long jesus

After a few days, Dipper forgot about Bill and the air of mystery that shrouded him.

It certainly wasn't hard to forget, given all the schoolwork he's been handed since the party. The two essays and a project due next week definitely took priority over some hot guy he met at a party. There are plenty of fish in the sea anyway. What does Dipper need that particular one for? Nothing, that's what.

The workload also meant he'd been cooped up at home in his room for days at a time, only seeing sunlight through the thin curtains covering the one window in his room. He hasn't eaten in at least twenty-four hours. 

Mabel took notice.

"Dipdop, you gotta get out." She said from her spot leaning against the doorway to his room. Dipper was currently at his desk, wearing a blanket like a cape and mumbling under his breath as he struggled to revise his rough draft.

"I'll get out when school's over." He replied absentmindedly, making a noise of triumph as he finally figured out what was making one sentence sound weird. 

Mabel sighed dramatically at her recluse of a brother. If Dipper just ignored her, she would surely give up. Right?

"Diiiippppppeerrrrr." She whined, coming up in front of him and laying on top of the book he was studying. Dipper jumped back, startled, and fell out of his chair as Mabel laughed. 

"Mabel! I was really getting somewhere." His complaining wouldn't work. He knew it, she knew it. They both could tell exactly how this conversation was going to end, and it wasn't going to be in Dipper's favor.

"Nope! You are going to get out today no matter what. We could use some groceries, why don't you go shopping?" She offered to help Dipper up off the ground, and he took her hand despite wanting to swat it away in spite.

"Fine, gosh. I'll go get you some more cereal since that's all you eat." He joked, pushing her out of the room so he could get dressed.

"Yay cereal! A balanced breakfast can be a balance of every meal!" Dipper laughed as he closed the door behind her, hearing her begin to sing some random song about cereal from beyond the door.

A sigh escaped his mouth as the stress came back from it's brief break. What he would give to have anything besides school to focus on. He wishes he could just start his career as a writer and skip all the anxiety that came with college. 

When he was finally decent, he stepped into the hall only to have Mabel push a handful of money into his hand and hurry him out the door. He chuckled at her insistence and shuffled out, stuffing the money into some random pocket and making his way out to the nearest mart.

His and Mabel's apartment was situated on the corner of a street with more apartments one way and random shops and back alleys the other way. He went in the direction of the shops and shoved his hands in his pockets, humming to himself quietly as he strolled down the street. 

They lived on the outskirts of a city, taking taxi's and the train to college campus where they couldn't walk to. It was cheaper this way, albeit a little annoying. Dipper tried to look on the bright side though, and saw it as an excuse to walk and be healthy. If he didn't do so much walking, he'd probably be the unhealthiest person in their complex with how little he ate and how most of what he did eat was horribly unhealthy.

Dipper made quick work of the mart when he stopped inside, only getting the current necessities and maybe a snickers for himself that nobody needed to know about. On his way out of the store, passing alley after alley, he decided to eat the snickers he bought before Mabel found out he'd wasted money again.

With the bar half in his mouth, he passed a particular alley that was housing a significant scene. 

Dipper doesn't know what made him stop. Maybe it was the four guys cornering the other guy. Maybe it was the fact that the guy cornered was Bill. It could have been a lot of reasons. The snickers fell out of his mouth as his jaw dropped.

"Fuck! I dropped my snickers!" He accidentally shouted out loud, the shock leaving his system momentarily. 

The group turned toward him, which was a bad decision as the diversion from Bill was enough for him to come down on them like a storm. Dipper watched in awe at what transpired.

Bill was like lightning as he struck them fast and hard, leaving them with more than a few cuts and bruises. After he'd gotten to all of them, dividing up the ass-kicking in equal amounts, they decided it was wise to flee and that's what they did, traipsing down the other side of the alley like a pack of scared deer. 

Bill turned toward him when they were gone, sporting only a bruise on his chin and slightly ruffled clothing. Other than that though, he wasn't even out of breath.

"Oh hey Pinetree. Thanks for the distraction." 

"What just-? What?! How did you-? Are you okay? Oh my god, shit shit  _shit_ my snickers. Is that blood?!" After the initial shock had worn off, it gave way to panic as is Dipper's go to for situations such as these. Not that he's ever been in a situation like this before.

"Stop panicking, kid. It's only a little blood and they were low-level hoods, we're all fine. Besides, s'not my blood." Bill had the audacity to smile widely and spread his arms to Dipper as if expecting a hug.

"Those guys you destroyed aren't fine. What, do you do karate or something?" Dipper asked nervously, shifting from foot to foot. 

The smile that took over Bill's face at that made Dipper feel queasy. He may have thought he was hot at the party but when you see a guy beat up multiple people at once it brings more fear than attraction.

"Or something." He replied vaguely, and he knew it was vague too, that bastard.

His stupid knowing smirk shouldn't look that good when theres a bruise right below it. The bruise was an ugly purple that swelled just under his mouth, on his jaw, slightly to the left.

"Oh dear, you're hurt." Dipper stepped forward and put his hands on either side of Bill's face, ignoring Bill's flinching away at the touch and turning his head left and right to inspect the wound.

"It's not that bad, lay off." Bill grumbled, backing out of Dipper's hands and turning his head to the side, hands in his pockets. 

Dipper crossed his arms over his chest, pouting at the man in front of him. That bruise needed ice, it didn't matter if Bill was going to comply or not. Dipper nodded to himself and went back to pick up his dropped grocery bags. Turning back to Bill, he tried to muster up the friendliest smile he could. 

"Come on back to my place so we can ice that bruise, maybe get you some lemonade you're looking very skinny." When in doubt, mom-mode it out. It helps ease the panic. He'll have the chance to ask questions about all this when he's got Bill trapped in his apartment and not a dank alley.

Bill looked like he was thinking through his options, making faces of disgust and thoughtfulness before finally nodding self-assuredly and putting on his trademark grin. 

"Inviting me back to your place already? Why, Pinetree it's only our first date." He batted his eyelashes jokingly and burst out laughing at Dipper's red face.

"If this is your idea of a first date then I don't think this relationship is going to last very long." Dipper patted himself on the back mentally for not just blubbering through a weaker response.

Bill surprised him with a laugh, following after Dipper probably with some reluctance but overall willing to see where this goes. Dipper's betting it's more out of curiosity than of actual need to heal his bruise.

They walked in companionable silence back to his and Mabel's apartment, neither really knowing what to say or how to say it. It didn't feel awkward though, it felt almost comfortable to Dipper as he's not one for talking anyway, unless it's thoughtless rambling.

Once they finally got to the apartment and Dipper called out to Mabel that he was home, to which she responded with a grunt, Dipper led them to his room after putting the groceries and the kitchen. He left Bill in his room as he went to get an ice pack from their freezer and a first aid kit for any other injuries.

Bill was sitting awkwardly at Dipper's desk when he came back into the room, causing the brunette to giggle to himself. He handed the ice pack over, receiving a thanks from Bill before sitting on his own bed and watching a Bill gingerly put the ice over his stomach.

"Wait I thought your face was what needed ice?" Dipper wondered aloud, blinking at him.

Bill chuckled humorlessly, absently touching the bruise on his chin. 

"That is one of my bruises yes. Not the most important one at the moment though." He gestured weakly to his abdomen. Dipper frowned.

"What did you do to those guys to make them hit you?" 

"You think I wanted them to come at me like that? I was just walking, all on my lonesome, when those hooligans attacked me." Bill's infernal smile never left his face, even as he took on an offended tone.

"They wouldn't have just jumped some guy without reason." Dipper argued.

"Pinetree, you don't want to get into this, trust me." His smile flickered for half a second, so quick that Dipper thought he imagined it.

"I do though. I want to know."

He doesn't know what made him say it. He's not overtly curious, it's just concern. It could happen again, and what if Dipper isn't there to drop his snickers?

Bill sighed heavily, closing his eyes for a minute, or two. When he opened his eyes again, the ice pack had slid from his stomach to his hand that hung at his side. He brought it up to his chin's bruise before deciding to finally speak.

"It doesn't matter if you know or not, you're in it now. They saw you and they know you were a distraction from me. They'll think it was purposeful. Man, this really sucks for you." Bill sighed again, looking off to the side, then looking into Dipper's eyes.

"They were after me specifically. I'm somewhat of a... threat to them. I'll be fine but you... Well no offense but I doubt you could fight-" Dipper made an indignant sound. "and so i guess it's my heroic duty or whatever to protect you."

Dipper blanched as Bill finished, seemingly in a chipper mood despite what he just dropped on Dipper.

"You mean they might come after me? All I did was drop my candy!" 

"Hey it's not so bad, at least you didn't beat up one of their guys, then you'd be dead where you stand. The most they'll do is rough you up a bit." Bill replied casually.

"Rough me up? Who's they? It's a group? Dead?! Did _you_ beat up one of their 'guys'? Oh god are you a _hitman_?" Dipper rambled, breathing heavily as the situation finally hit him. He's still not really sure what's going on but he doesn't approve of anything that's happening.

"Calm down Pinetree, jesus. It's not a big deal. Besides, you've got me to protect you. It's like having your own ruggedly handsome bodyguard. And if protection isn't enough you'll still get to hang out with me more." Bill winked at him cheekily, ignoring how Dipper flushed and blubbered at that. 

"What have I gotten myself into?" Dipper groaned into his hands. 

"A shitshow." Bill responded, grinning like this was the best day of his life. "and it's about to be an awfully exciting shitshow."

Dipper groaned louder, moaning his complaints and pouting as much as he could. If he was gonna get dragged into Bill's business, he wasn't going to make easy for him.

"Dipper!" Mabel called from the other room. "Do you have a special friend over? Could you please keep it down I'm trying to read."

Dipper blushed horribly at that, covering his face with his hands as Bill cackled boisterously. 

"Get out." Dipper muttered behind his hands.

"What was that, Pinetree?" Bill laughed, cupping his ear with his hand in a 'i cant hear you' gesture.

"I said, get out!" Dipper stood up pulling Bill out of his chair and pushing him out the door. He then slammed the door behind him, hearing the laughter coming from both his sister and Bill. 

Dipper sighed deeply, frowning to himself in thought and hugging himself, thinking about all the events of today. 

What has he gotten himself into?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this entire fic is trash never let me write. srry i totally didnt edit this lol. this is kinda my 'getting back into writing because ive forgotten how to do it' fic so bear with me. im not really trying all that hard.

Living with Bill constantly around wasn't so bad.

Sure he sang songs loudly to fill the silence. And yes he did occasionally burp as loud as humanly possible for Mabel to rate. And of course once in a while he would pull Dipper into an alley and hold him against the wall with a hand over his mouth, peeking out suspiciously before deeming it safe and leaving Dipper a blushing mess. But these were just things that made Bill, Bill.

It was only grating on Dipper's nerves a little bit. 

"Soo... Bill... How long is this gonna last?" Dipper asked one day as they were hanging out in his room. Bill was currently hanging upside down over the side of the bed, reading one of Mabel's ( _not_ Dipper's) romance novels while Dipper lay beside him just staring at the wall.

"How long is what going to last? This unresolved sexual tension? Hopefully not long." Bill scoffed and angrily turned another page.

"No. I mean _this_. This whole protection thing, I'm pretty sure no one's out to get me." 

It had been days, almost a full week without any incidents. Nobody stopped him in the halls of school buildings. He never got jumped in an alley. Nothing has happened, and Dipper's beginning to think that Bill's tricked him.

"That's what they want you to think."

Dipper sighed dramatically, flopping on top of Bill with an - _oomf,_ the bed creaking underneath them. There were mild complaints from him but after a few grumbles he just went back to reading. 

"Who is 'they'? Why did they even attack you? Why would they come after me? You never answered my questions, I'm getting sick and tired of your vague responses." Dipper said, words muffled by the blankets he shoved his face into.

"Well _I'm_ getting sick and tired of this plot line, it's going nowhere."

"There you go again, not answering my questions!" Dipper suddenly sat up and took the book out of Bill's hands. Bill protested loudly getting up from his position laying down and glaring at Dipper.

"Fine! You want answers? Fine." 

Dipper didn't get a chance to feel pleased with himself as when his lips moved into a smug grin, Bill's lips moved to his and suddenly the world exploded into a million little pieces.

Bill was kissing him.

Bill was _kissing_ him.

It lasted barely a second and Dipper didn't have enough to time to respond or even think about kissing back as when he blinked Bill was gone and his marvelously soft lips were no longer touching his.

He blinked again and Bill was back with the book in his hands, scoffing slightly at whatever the protagonist must've done. Meanwhile, Dipper was on the edge of internal panic. Everything was silent in his head for a moment, one blissful moment. Then something in his mind kicked into gear and fires started raging against his nerves. 

"W-what... What! What just happened?! What was that?! That didn't- I don't- You can't just-! Agh!" Dipper threw his hands in the air and fell off the bed with the velocity with which he threw them. On the floor, he pointed an accusing figure at Bill, who looked at him indifferently. "You just kissed me!"

"It was really more of a peck but sure." 

Dipper was flabbergasted. He blubbered for a minute, scoffing erratically, eyes darting back and forth.

"How dare- I wasn't ready!" He responded, unsure of what to do. 

"Are you ready now?" Bill looked up from his book with half lidded eyes. 

"Well I- I guess so-" Dipper was cut off as Bill leaned forward and kissed him again.

It was a real kiss this time, no half-second bullshit. Bill's lips moved against his gently, which surprised Dipper as he assumed that any kiss from Bill would be as heated as his personality. Not that he thought about kissing Bill often. Or at all. Ever. Dipper's thoughts grew more muddled as the kiss continued. This was definitely more than a peck.

After a long and satisfying mush of lips. Ew brain that sounds weird. After, _making out,_ for a little bit, Bill moved away and gave Dipper an expecting look. Dipper stared blankly at him. His eyes then moved slightly to Bill's left, unable to look into those damned golden eyes for one more second.

"Um... I don't know how to respond." Does not compute.

Bill rolled his eyes, pushing himself away from Dipper.

"Really? That's what you say? I just rocked your little nerd world." Bill looked at him dubiously. 

"Nerd? Me? I beg to _dipper_." He chuckled to himself as Bill shook his head at him. Dipper still felt giddy from the kiss.

"Hey wait!" Dipper suddenly remembered what brought on the life changing moment. "You never answered my questions!"

Bill groaned and flopped back down onto the bed.

"You don't need to know. Can't you just trust me on this? Besides, I _did_ answer you."

Dipper was horribly confused and a little annoyed. He'd known Bill for barely a week and that is not enough time to get to know and trust someone. The worst of it was, Dipper was left paranoid, always wondering when the supposed people after him would strike, even when under constant surveillance by a certain bothersome blonde cretin. 

But he couldn't tell Bill this. How could you tell someone who's been hanging onto your shoulder for a week that you don't trust them? He decided to avoid.

"No you didn't, you just kissed me." 

Bill gave him an expectant look again, eyebrows raised and head leaning forward slightly. He looked like he already said the answer and Dipper's just a fool for not getting it.

"I don't know what you mean can you please explain." Dipper asked politely, trying a different approach.

Bill sighed and flopped back down on the bed, groaning into the air. He shook his head, laughing a little deliriously and staring at the ceiling in disbelief.

"Figure it out yourself." He replied, rather rudely. 

Dipper sputtered for a little bit before sighing in defeat. No matter how hard he tried (really not hard at all), he wouldn't get Bill to budge. He decided to be content with this instead of brooding over it, as that would be unproductive. Laying back down in resignation, Dipper decided he was done with playing Bill's games and he's rather just stare at the wall some more and pretend that he enjoyed spending time with him. He didn't actually enjoy his company at all. Not even a little. It wasn't like it was the highlight of his day, of course not.

This whole being around Bill all the time thing wasn't just grating on his mental stability, his schoolwork suffered as well. Being so focused on Bill, because all attention had to be on him all the time, really took time away from his usual all day studying. It was a lose-lose situation but he couldn't quite bring himself to ask Bill to leave him alone. Maybe he enjoyed the distraction. Maybe staring at walls all day when he wasn't overtly stressed about school wasn't something he enjoyed doing anymore. Maybe, just maybe, Bill had given him something fun in life. Time with Bill was always exciting, and that's what Dipper found so dangerously addicting.

Along with all of this, Bill _kissed_ him. Sure, Dipper had kissed people before, boys and girls alike, but that didn't excuse the level of shock that wrung through him at the action. He couldn't figure out why the kiss bothered him so much. It could be because they barely knew each other, or the fact that it was so out of Bill's character.

But was it? Bill was always doing the unexpected so was it really that out of character for him to do? 

"Pinetree don't think so loud, I can't hear the book." Bill said monotonously, the book now just laying on his face instead of him actually holding it to read.

Dipper scoffed and took the book off his face, ruining his fun as always.

"I think you've had enough romance for one day." 

"Well I think _you've_ had enough romance for one day." Bill retorted like a middle schooler.

"Yes I think I have." Dipper nodded along thoughtfully, much to Bill's displeasure."Now leave, I have got to study for this reading test or I will fail out of college and then fail out of life." He pushed Bill off the bed.

"But what if something happens while I'm not here? You could get attacked and I wouldn't be there to protect you." Bill exclaimed heartily, holding his hand to his head in mock faintness. 

"You couldn't protect me with those noodle arms anyway." 

Bill gasped, appalled, shocked, and frankly offended at this horrible accusation. Then he smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"You're comparing me to food because you want a bite out of me, don't deny it." He had the audacity to wink.

Dipper made gagging noises as he ushered Bill out of the room.

"In your dreams, Cipher." Bill had told him his last name some time ago, but Dipper rarely used it. It felt too... Mysterious.

"No, in _yours_." 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> help im sick and i still wrote this shit oooh yeaaahhh beat that. i want to die. UNEDITED BECAUSE IM A PIECE OF SHIT AND AM TOO SICK TO FUCKIN READ.

Bill hasn't been seen in days.

Dipper's not panicking, he isn't. Sure going from seeing each other every day to a sudden disappearance was odd and disconcerting but it didn't mean anything. Bill's probably just on vacation or something. Or dead. 

He shook his head, quickly dispelling the thought as he paced back and forth in his barren apartment during the middle of a brisk September night. 

It's not like he had anything to worry about. Bill could take care of himself. Unless he was ganged up on by even more guys then last time. Dipper felt the need to call Bill, but he didn't have his number and it was the middle of the night on a Saturday. If anything, Bill's probably out partying somewhere. And he has been for all the days Dipper hasn't seen him.

It was unreasonable to worry. Were they even friends? Dipper considered them friends but did Bill? There's no way he could know now that Bill's nowhere to be found. Not like Dipper's really searching but the meaning is there.

Dipper's pacing decreased the more he thought until he was just standing in the middle of the room awkwardly, lost in thought. Good thing it's the middle of the night or else Mabel would have been seriously questioning his sanity, more than she usually does.

His thoughts were cut off by a pounding on the door. 

Dipper tensed up, turning his wide eyes to the door frame with an intensity that rivaled Mabel's while playing Mario Kart. He waited for confirmation that he heard the noise, standing and staring until it came with an incessant knocking. Startled, he jumped and hurried to the door. Looking through the peephole nervously for what could possibly be a man with a gun, Dipper only saw, with some relief, Bill.

Only some relief though because Bill was covered head to toe in cuts, bruises, and blood in different states of drying. He looked like he'd just come out of a horror movie or violent action movie. He looked to be holding his left bicep with a tight grip, blood seeping through his finger.

"Pinetree open up, I don't have all day." Bill whisper-yelled through the door, snapping Dipper out of his shock. This got him hurrying to open said door with a sense of urgency, a panic coursing through him like from that first time he saw Bill injured so severely. 

As soon as the door opened, Bill dropped through, stumbling into the apartment with Dipper quickly following as Bill led them to Dipper's room. A blubbering mess, Dipper had no choice but to follow behind and make a small noise as Bill let himself onto Dipper's bed, surely staining the sheets with his, or others, blood.

There was silence for a moment, Bill's labored breathing being the only sound in the entire apartment. Then Dipper sighed heavily.

"Ya know what, I'm not even surprised. What do you need me to do?" He crossed his arms and leaned back, looking Bill over from a distance.

Bill gave a pained smile and clutched his arm tighter.

"You know me so well. Okay so I ran into some guys, they didn't like me for some absurd reason. Next thing you know I'm cornered, one guy pulls out a knife, stabs my arm, what an idiot. _I_ would have stabbed me in the gut but, ya know, that's neither here nor there." Bill rambles, blood gushing out through his fingers and from various other cuts on his body, including one nasty looking one on his collarbone that had ripped through his shirt.

"You were stabbed?!" Dipper was aghast. He knew it was bad but a knife? What kind of trouble is Bill in? 

"Yeah but it's not that bad-Hey! Ouchie, _Ow_!" Bill complained as Dipper went over and pulled his hands away from the wound. It looked deep, but luckily it seems to have avoided any arteries. That is all based on Dipper's limited medical knowledge.

Without words, Dipper left the room to get his mandatory first aid kit from the bathroom. He came back into the room to Bill poking at his wounds and giggling quietly after the initial wince of pain. Dipper slapped the hand away, frowning at him. Aggravating the wounds, and laughing at the pain was not something that mentally sane people did. Dipper asks himself for the millionth time what exactly he's gotten himself into.

Disturbingly soundless, Dipper pulled Bill's shirt off, with little resistance from Bill, who was noiselessly watching Dipper. Once the fabric was out of the way, Dipper took to treating and wrapping up each wound carefully, finding another one bad enough to treat on his abdomen. The whole time, no words were shared between the two, only a comfortable silence and lingering gentle touches. It was nice.

So of course Bill had to ruin the moment.

"Is this the part where we start making out passionately because I don't really think I'm up for it right now." 

Dipper sighed and shook his head, laughing a bit at the ridiculousness of this situation, which he was handling surprisingly well for someone who hasn't seen more blood than a scrape on the playground before.

"You've been reading too many of those romance novels." 

"Hey, they're classic literature."

The conversation went hushed after that, neither wanting to begin the conversation about to come, although they both knew it needed to come. Dipper wasn't a very assertive person, but just this once he decided to start.

"Bill, what's going on?"

Bill sighed heavily, refusing to meet Dipper's eyes. Then he looked up and gave the most fake smile Dipper's ever seen.

"Would you believe me if I said it was thanksgiving at my house?" 

"Enough bullshitting me. Tell me the truth right now or... Or we can't hang out anymore." Dipper shot him a blank look, morphing into hurt as he continued with the ultimatum. 

The look of disgust Bill gave him was enough to hurt him even more.

"You really think you're that important to me?" He retorted, face going neutral after that.

He's not gonna lie, that hit him hard. Dipper felt awful about himself before anger at Bill took over, although the pain was still present. 

"Fine. Leave." He didn't want Bill to leave, but he also couldn't stand to see his face.

Bill's expression contorted into a pained look of confliction. Good, he should feel upset.

"Wait, no. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I'll... I'll tell you... everything." Bill sighed, defeated. He slumped over, still refusing to look at Dipper's face and took a deep breath. Meanwhile Dipper stayed silent, waiting for Bill to continue.

"I... have bad people that are after me. I may have done some things to them that hurt them significantly, and they want revenge. It's just a thing you do when you're in a gang." Bill winced at the word, gauging Dipper's reaction, to which there was none. Blank-faced and stony, Dipper remained quiet.

"I should have never gotten involved in this life, I know that now, but I needed the money and the... _family_ that came with it. At the time anyway. But now I can't get out. Once in this life, you can never get out of it. So I'm staying. It's not so bad. The word 'gang' has such negative connotations but it's all fine, I swear." Bill paused again, looking at Dipper's dead expression.

"There's still something you're not telling me."

Bill looked away, guilt overpowering his features. The moment was tense. They both knew what would happen if Bill lied, or refused to speak. It was all he could do to tell the simple, easy truth.

"They're after me because I killed some of their guys." There was a pregnant pause where nothing was said. Then Bill rambled, as if caught in the act itself. 

"I mean it's not like they didn't deserve it, they definitely did. These were terrible people, Pinetree, I mean worse than you could ever imagine. I only ever kill the bad people. Not that I kill people often! I mean, occasionally, yes, I do, but it's always in the name of justice. Not that I think I'm above the law, it's just that sometimes they miss people like the abusers and the rapists and so I kill them in the name of my gang. I'm not top dog in the gang yet, so I can't exactly call it mine, but i'll get there, mark my words. Unless you don't want me to of course. I'll stay low-level if you want me to, I promise." 

Dipper still was quiet, even after Bill stopped and just sat there breathing hard and clutching his arm hard enough to make it bleed again. That would've turned out bad, so Dipper gently took his hand away from the wound and just held it in between them.

"Please say something." 

A sigh came from Dipper's lips, all thoughts racing but unable to form properly. It was a confusing rapids of opinions that he couldn't hope to swim through.

"I don't know what to say." He answered honestly. After all, this was the honesty hour.

Bill looked at him deeply for a moment, before letting his gaze soften into something more understanding.

"I know."

"You've killed people. You kill people." Dipper replied, his thoughts gaining speed and becoming clearer than the murky shallows they were before.

"I know." 

"What am I supposed to do about that? Should I go to the cops or will you shank me for that? Should I just ignore it and let you come into my apartment in the middle of the night, getting blood all over my good sheets. Jesus, Bill. I don't know what to do." Dipper's heart was sinking deeper by the second, the hand holding Bill's tightening enough to hurt. 

"You think I know what to do? I never know what to do. I've been following the tide for years. It's how I ended up in this mess." He retorted, golden eyes quivering in an effort to keep some kind of emotion in.

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Bill suddenly softened up, only shaking slightly.

"I don't know. That you're in this mess in the first place. That I made you share something you clearly weren't comfortable sharing. I'm sorry." Dipper felt on the verge of tears.

"Don't be sorry, none of this has to do with you."

There was a pause, Dipper thinking over the idiocy of what he was about to say before he did a drastically impulsive thing.

"It does." He brought his other hand up so both were holding Bill's. "It does have to do with me, because whatever shit you're in, I'm gonna help you with it. I'm in."

Tan hands wrenched away from Dipper's pale ones, Bill looking as if burned and gave Dipper a look of pure shock. 

"You don't know what you're saying. No, you can't be serious." 

Dipper gave him a serious look and Bill decided not to question it again.

Whatever terrible stuff Bill was in, now Dipper was involved with too. This was a commitment not many people would jump at, but Dipper felt the burning need to be with Bill, a desire to help him and keep him safe. Even if he couldn't completely protect him, he could at least heal him.

They spend the rest of the night simply laying next to each other, Dipper running his fingers through Bill's vanilla hair until he managed to fall into a troubled sleep.

The next several nights ended the same, in each other's arms and together through anything that could come at them.


End file.
